S1 IH (Teacher’s Version)
A Brief History of Hong Kong 19
Worksheet 4 Hong Kong Coming Under the British
IH
A. Was Hong Kong a barren1 island in 1842?
The Chinese Qing government was defeated by
the British army in the First Anglo-Chinese War
(1839-1842), also known as the First Opium War.
The Treaty of Nanjing 2 was signed. The island
of Hong Kong was ceded 3 to the British. 4
Lord
Palmerston, British Foreign Secretary 5 at the
time, was not satisfied with their gain.
He
referred to Hong Kong as “a barren island with
hardly a house upon it”.
1
2
3
4
5
Barren
荒蕪的
Treaty of Nanjing
南京條約
Cede
割讓
The 1860 Convention of Beijing 北京條約 ceded Kowloon while the Convention for the extension of
Hong Kong Territory 1898 展拓香港界址專條 leased the New Territories for 99 years
Foreign Secretary
外相
S1 IH (Teacher’s Version)
A Brief History of Hong Kong 20
Study the following census 6 report.
soldiers in Hong Kong in 1841.
Chek-Chu 赤柱
Heong Kong 香港（村）
Wong Nei Chung 黃泥涌
Kung-Lam 亞公岩
Shek-Lup 石澳
Soo-Ke-Wan 筲箕灣
Tai Shek-ha 大石下
Kwan Tai-loo 群大路
Soo-kon-poo 掃管莆
Hung-heong-loo 紅香爐
Sai Wan 柴灣
Tai Long 大浪
Too-te-wan 土地灣
Tai Tam 大潭
Soo-koo-wan 索罟灣
Shek-tong Chuy 石塘咀
Chun Hum 舂坎
Tseen Suy Wan 淺水灣
Sum Suy Wan 深水灣
Shek-pae 石排
The census was carried out by British
The Capital, a large town
A large fishing-village
An agricultural village
Stone-quarry7 - poor village
Stone-quarry – poor village
Stone-quarry – Large village
Stone-quarry – A hamlet8
Fishing-village
A hamlet
Hamlet
Fishing hamlet
Stone-quarry, a hamlet
Hamlet near Tytam bay
Hamlet
Stone-quarry. Hamlet
Small fishing village with no people
living there
Small fishing village with no people
living there
Small fishing village with no people
living there
Small fishing village with no people
living there
Population
2000
200
300
200
150
1200
20
50
10
50
30
5
60
20
30
25
00
00
00
00
In the Bazaar9
In the Boats
Labourers from Kowlung
4350
800
2000
300
Actual Present population
7450
1. Was Palmerston right in describing Hong Kong as a “barren island ”?
explain your answer.
Briefly
No, he wasn’t. There were a lot of people living in small villages in Hong Kong at
that time. They engaged in various economic activities.
6
7
8
9
Census
Stone-quarry
Hamlet
Bazaar
人口統計調查
石礦場
小屋
市集
S1 IH (Teacher’s Version)
2.
A Brief History of Hong Kong 21
Do you believe Palmerston or the census report? Why? Which one is fact? Which
one is opinion?
I believe the census report because it is a record of an actual survey at that time.
Thus, the census report is fact while what Palmerston said is opinion.
3. What is the difference between fact and opinion?
A fact is based on evidence which can be verified while an opinion is
based on personal preference which does not require any evidence.
“Hong Kong was a small fishing village in the past, and has developed into an
international financial centre in less than one and a half century.”
Many people believe the above “story of Hong Kong” to be true.
report again.
Study the census
4. How many people were living in fishing villages in 1841?
( 200
) +
( 50 ) + (
5 ) = (
255
)。
5. Were there other kinds of villages? How many people were living there?
Yes. 4085
6. Was Hong Kong a small fishing village in 1841? Explain.
No, it wasn’t because the majority of the people were engaged in economic activities
other than fishing.
S1 IH (Teacher’s Version)
A Brief History of Hong Kong 22
7. What was Hong Kong like in 1841 then?
There were farms, fishing villages, mines and market places in Hong Kong at that
time. People from Kowloon also came to work there. There were traces of economic
development.
B.Hong Kong: from rural community to entrepot
Study the following pictures and answer the questions that follow.
Picture A: a symbol taken from a ten-dollar note issued by the Hong Kong Bank
.
1.
Look at the drawings under the words “DIEU ET MON DROIT” (God and My
Rights) in the lower part of the symbol. Tell your neighbour(s) what you find.
A Chinese junk and a Western ship in the harbour, three people standing on the
shore, loads of cargo and a small hill in the background.
2.
Discuss with your neighbour(s) what these objects together represent.
explain your answer below.
They represent early Hong Kong in the mid 19th century.
Briefly
Together they show HK
as a hilly island with a good harbour functioning as an entrepot.
3.
Why are there a lion and a unicorn10 in the upper part of the symbol? What do
they represent?
They are symbols of the British Empire. They represent Hong Kong being ruled by
the British.
10
unicorn
獨角獸